10. roberto "arriba" clemente
right field / #21 / pittsburgh pirates (1955-1972)
:: stats
18 seasons / 3,000 hits / 240 home runs / 1,305 runs batted in / .317 career batting average (.357 in 1967 alone)
:: notable awards
15-time national league all star
1966 national league mvp
1973 major league baseball hall of fame inductee
:: other notes
clemente was a tremendous humanitarian; to get background info on the yearly humanitarian award named in his honor, check out this site: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/official_info/community/clemente.jsp .
9. pete "charlie hustle" rose
outfield, first base, third base / #14 / cincinnati reds, philadelphia phillies, montreal expos (1963-1986)
:: stats
24 seasons / 3,562 games played / 5,861 plate appearances / 4,256 career hits / 1,314 runs batted in / .303 career batting average (career-high .348 batting average in 1969)
:: notable awards
17-time national league all star
1963 national league rookie of the year
1969 lou gehrig memorial award
1973 national league mvp
1975 world series mvp
1976 roberto clemente award winner
:: other notes
as his nickname suggests, rose was a scrappy player. not necessarily known for his ability to hit the long ball, "charlie hustle" made up for it by being one of the scrappiest players ever to step foot on a baseball diamond. he played the game the right way as a player - always hustling and doing whatever he could to help his team win.
rose has been red-flagged by many fans, and even the baseball hall of fame, over the years for his involvement in gambling while he was managing the cincinnati reds. though the committee has attempted to vote rose into the hall on three separate occasions, the controversy over whether or not rose deserves a place there continues today. however, as the saying goes "numbers don't lie." and rose's numbers suggest that he was one of the greatest hitters baseball has ever seen.
8. josh "the brown bambino" gibson
catcher / # / pittsburgh crawfords, homestead grays (1927-1946)
:: stats
"almost" 800 home runs on his hall of fame signage, probably close to 900, some say he actually hit up to 972
.426 batting average in 60 at-bats against white pitchers
.350+ career batting average in the negro leagues
:: notable awards
1972 major league baseball hall of fame inductee
:: other notes
gibson should be penciled in the record books right next to maris, mcgwire, sosa, and the rest of the cats who've busted open ruth's single-season home run record. in fact, gibson arguably deserves a place there more than mcgwire or maris. in the 1931 season "the brown bambino" bashed 75 homers.
baseball historians argue that gibson - along with satchel paige, nap lajoie, and dozens of other great negro league players - paved the way for jackie robinson to enter the white major leagues through their outrageous talent. gibson was born in buena vista, georgia...so i gotta like the guy a little more because he's from my home state. if he wouldn't have died of a heart-attack, some say he would've been one of the first players to break the color barrier. three months after his death, jackie robinson broke through into the white major leagues with the brooklyn dodgers.
*** reason i'm not putting him in the top 5 with the greats: his exact stats are unknown.
7. mickey "the mick" mantle
outfielder / #7 / new york yankees (1951-1968)
:: stats
18 seasons / 2,415 hits / 536 home runs / 1,509 runs batted in / .298 career batting average (.353 in 1956)
:: notable awards
4-time american league mvp
20-time american league all star
1956 major league player of the year
1956 batting title (.356)
1956 american league triple crown
1962 american league gold glove (outfield)
1974 major league baseball hall of fame inductee
:: other notes
"the mick" made a run at topping babe ruth's single-season home run record alongside teammate and soon-to-be mvp roger maris during the 1961 season. mantle fell by the wayside due to injuries; maris outpaced him. the movie 61* does a solid job at documenting season-long saga.
some argue that mantle would have ended up the greatest player ever if it hadn't been for his bad knees. just about as many would argue he could have been a better player if he focused more on the game than he did women.
6. lou "the iron horse" gehrig
first base / #4 / new york yankees (1923-1939)
:: stats
17 seasons / 2,164 games / 9,660 plate appearances / 2,721 hits / 493 home runs / 1,995 runs batted in / .340 career batting average (career-high .363 in 1934)
:: notable awards
1927 american league mvp
1934 american league triple crown
1936 american league mvp
1939 major league baseball hall of fame inductee
:: other notes
lou earned the nickname "the iron horse" because of his consistent performance and for the fact that he appeared in 2,130 consecutive games throughout his career (despite 17 fractures in his hands, severe back pain, and various illnesses). gehrig from baseball in 1939 due to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (als), a progressive disease that involves nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord (both control voluntary muscle movement). upon his retirement, als became commonly known as "lou gehrig's disease." gehrig was famously the first athlete to ever have his number retired. he was also inducted into the hall of fame early; the normal waiting period at that time was two years from the end of a players career. the hall practically admitted gehrig immediately.
terms...
triple crown - league leader in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in.
mvp - most valuable player, aka the best batter/position player in your league.
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